sábado, 31 de outubro de 2020
How to Use Covid-19 Testing and Quarantining to Safely Travel For the Holidays
By Claudia Finkelstein, Michigan State University
With the holidays approaching, many people are considering whether to visit relatives or friends in the coming weeks. At the same time, cases of COVID-19 are surging toward the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic. As a physician, daughter of vulnerable seniors and mother of young adults, I have been thinking a lot about whether testing will help me decide if it's safe to see my family.
Testing may help you to make sure you and your loved ones stay healthy, but COVID-19 testing is not as simple as yes or no, infected or safe. There are many factors to keep in mind when using a coronavirus test to plan your holiday travels safely.
Some Tests Are Better Than Others
Broadly speaking, there are two categories of tests.
Antibody tests – which look for evidence of previous infection – can't tell you whether you currently have COVID-19 and aren't useful for planning to visit family.
The other category of tests look for evidence of the virus in your body. There are two types of these viral tests available – RT–PCR tests and rapid antigen tests – and these are the ones to use when trying to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
No lab test for COVID-19 is 100% accurate. Although false positives are certainly not a good thing, a false negative result – testing negative when you actually have the virus – is the bigger danger if you plan on seeing family. The false negative rates for RT-PCR tests range from 2%-29%. Much of that range is due to different manufacturers and user error. While fairly accurate, these tests often involve a visit to a health care provider and are somewhat expensive – around US$100, though costs vary widely by state – and it can take up to three days to get results. RT-PCR tests are the best tests available, but for some people, especially if you'll be seeing someone in a vulnerable age group, the high-end 29% false negative rate might leave more uncertainty than you are comfortable with.
Rapid antigen tests, in comparison, are faster and cheaper, but less accurate than RT–PCR tests. You can usually get results within a day of taking the test, but false negative rates can be as high as 50%. They are most likely to be accurate when they are given to people with symptoms within a week of symptom onset, but rapid tests are not meant to be diagnostic tests for an individual. They are much better at monitoring whole populations where people can be tested repeatedly, and quite frankly have little use as a one-time test.
With a rapid test you may get results instantaneously at a lower price, but they should not be the only thing to inform a travel decision. When the health of a family member is on the line, accuracy is your friend. RT–PCR tests are generally considered to be more accurate.
Timing Matters
Regardless of which viral test you use, the results are accurate only for the moment when you were tested and reflect only the ability of the test to detect the virus. A negative result today of course doesn't prevent you from getting infected tomorrow.
But with the coronavirus, neither does a negative test mean you haven't been exposed to the virus. The time between coming in contact with the virus and beginning to shed infectious virus particles – the incubation period – varies anywhere between two and 14 days. For example, it's possible you could get exposed today, test negative tomorrow and then go on to be infectious a few days later.
Additionally, it is possible to spread the virus before you show symptoms – when you are presymptomatic – or even if you never develop any symptoms at all.
Minimize Risk, Accept Uncertainty
First off, if you have any symptoms at all, stay home. If you do not have symptoms, then you can start to think about travel for the holidays.
Knowing that tests are imperfect, the safest thing you can do is to strictly self-quarantine for 14 days before your visit. Testing can offer a helpful data point, but a quarantine is the more foolproof option.
If you can't quarantine for a full 14 days, the next best thing is to limit potential exposure to the virus, isolate as much as possible as long as possible before you travel and get tested.
If you are worried about being an asymptomatic carrier and are unable to isolate, consider getting tested at least five days after your last possible exposure. This maximizes the chance of a test detecting the virus if you are infected.
Remember that traveling itself carries risk of exposure too. Driving with appropriate precautions – wear a mask, wash your hands and social distance – seems to be safer than flying.
The process of flying – the crowded airports, bus rides and close seating on the plane – is a serious exposure risk. Ideally, after flying you would self–isolate again at your destination for as long as possible and consider getting tested. That is a lot of time alone and waiting for test results, but I can think of no higher stakes than the safety of loved ones.
You’re Not In It Alone
Maintaining health is a group effort, and it takes only one infected person to cause an outbreak. Openly discuss the precautions that the people you are visiting are taking and the possibilities of social distancing during the visit.
[Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]
Remember that one negative test in a party of travelers is only that, one negative test. Just because you test negative doesn't mean you can assume that other people in your household are negative too. Everyone needs to get tested and follow the same isolation measures, as much of the spread occurring is happening at smaller private gatherings in close quarters.
Many people want to see our loved ones during the holidays. But there are enormous, life-and-death reasons to plan the visit carefully and to use information, isolation and testing wisely. You may decide that the risk is too high, and that is OK. But, if you decide to visit for the holidays, the safest option is a strict 14-day quarantine. Testing can help inform your decision, but is not the only thing that you should rely on.
Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University
Fonte: Healthy Women
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In a World of Pain
"My pain originated in my pelvis, and it's around my pelvic girdle on the left side of my body," explains Hinkle. The pain began in 2015 and took a long time for doctors to identify. "It's one of the most difficult areas to diagnose, and it's one of the most painful areas a human can experience pain."
When Marin Hinkle tells you about her work, family and friends, you can hear the excitement and love in her voice. But behind that serene smile you see on television, in her roles on shows such as "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Two and a Half Men," is a woman who struggles daily with agonizing chronic pain.
"My pain originated in my pelvis, and it's around my pelvic girdle on the left side of my body," explains Hinkle. The pain began in 2015 and took a long time for doctors to identify. "It's one of the most difficult areas to diagnose, and it's one of the most painful areas a human can experience pain."
Hinkle had a history of kidney stones, so when the pain began, that's what she thought it was. Because she was shooting a television pilot, she tried her best to ignore it. That didn't last.
"I was in excruciating pain, and I didn't understand why it was lasting so long," she recalls.
When the pain just wouldn't stop, Hinkle ended up in a pain program at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Doctors initially tried to break her pain cycle by giving her an epidural injection, which numbed her pain for six hours. For some patients, that's enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't for her.
"After it wore off, the pain came racing back," Hinkle says.
Hinkle was temporarily prescribed opioids to help her get through work. But she didn't like how they made her feel — sleepy and drugged. When the pilot project finished, she stopped taking them.
The pain returned.
"I began a journey that took about two years. [I had] to figure out how I was going to live with this kind of pain," says Hinkle.
For four months after the pain returned, she was bedridden and for a year and a half after that, she didn't work. "I didn't even want to get into cars to go places because every time I sat, I had pain in my pelvis."
Hinkle saw specialist after specialist, and each one seemed to think her pain was caused by something different.
"I had seven different diagnoses," says Hinkle. One of those was interstitial cystitis, which resulted in her trying everything from changing her diet to having her bladder numbed. Nothing worked.
Searching For An Answer
"I was my own advocate," Hinkle says. "I basically had to crusade to figure out what was wrong. I would often meet with doctors who weren't sensitive, and some thought I was being overly emotional because I'm an actor. One neurologist actually said to me, 'You're too smart for all this.' I started to think I had become crazy. I remember weeping in doctors' offices."
Six months later, having seen doctor after doctor and undergone test after test, Hinkle found a female physician who took her seriously. "She was kind and thoughtful. She started writing letters to get me seen at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a week and then in the chronic pain program at Cleveland Clinic for a month," says Hinkle.
At the Cleveland Clinic, during a pelvic pain workup, Hinkle was given a diagnosis of pudendal neuralgia, which occurs when a major nerve is damaged in the lower body and can cause everything from pain and discomfort to numbness in the genital region. Doctors aren't sure how she damaged the nerve; it could have been the result of a gynecological procedure where a nerve was pinched, along with her exercise of choice, which had been cycling.
Although she finally had a diagnosis, the pain remained. The pain program, however, taught her how to live with it. "They taught me that I can still do all the physical stuff I used to. I'm just going to be doing it in pain," says Hinkle.
A couple of months after she completed the pain program, Hinkle went on her first audition in a long time. She was cast as Dr. Miller in the sitcom " Speechless." "That reignited my career and allowed me to prove to myself that I could work with the pain," Hinkle says. In fact, she based the optimistic character in the sitcom on a woman who is in pain and has decided she won't let it get to her.
Hinkle's next audition was for the role of Rose Weissman in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Landing that part changed her life; in 2019 it earned her her first Emmy Award nomination for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.
Hinkle as Rose Weissman in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video
"Through this, I was able to show that I'm back working. At the end of the day, when the work is finished, the pain surges again. So that's not to say I don't feel it when I'm working, but the work is so much more than the pain."
During her search for the source of her pain, Hinkle says that the intimacy in all her relationships — with her husband, son, mom, and her friends — was altered and stressed. Nevertheless, they all supported her. "I thank God that I had love in my family because the isolation of pain is so difficult. I see why people crumble. You feel like you're in a nightmare, and no one understands," she says.
Friends helped her too. A women's group she belongs to called The Hyphenates — they're all actors who are also writers, directors, teachers and the like — sent her books, tea, cups, handmade bookmarks in beautiful fabric and letters in which they expressed their compassion and love for her. "That buoyed me and kept me going," she says.
At the time, her son was in middle school. Before the pain, Hinkle had been the fun mom who would clown around with her son and attend all of his school events. But when she was in so much pain, that stopped.
While writing an essay to get into a private high school, her son was asked, "What's the greatest challenge that you've faced?" His answer, Hinkle says, broke her heart: "When my mom wasn't able to do all the fun things that she used to."
Today, Hinkle says she's still in pain all the time. In the morning, it's less, but by nightfall, it fires up. She takes an anti-seizure medicine and a low-dose antidepressant to help with the pain. Although Hinkle can't exercise like she used to, as even yoga hurts, she finds gentle movement on an elliptical machine helps. "The only other thing I let myself do is walk, and I walk as much as possible," she says.
For other women with chronic pain or other chronic health problems, Hinkle suggests they look at what they loved doing before their issues began. "Let yourself indulge in them in a way that's even more enhanced … Rely on loved ones for support, take in the outdoors when you can, and take in the little details of life, like making a pie or taking a shower."
Hinkle says another thing that helped her was adopting a rescue dog, and she highly recommends having the gentle love of an animal.
During the 12 years she acted on "Two and a Half Men," Hinkle always performed in a play each year as well. But with her pain at night, she stopped. "My dream," she says, "is to get back on the stage."
Fonte: Healthy Women
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domingo, 25 de outubro de 2020
Do You Have Dense Breasts? Knowing Your Status Could Make a Difference in Your Breast Cancer Screening
Dense breast tissue can make it more difficult to detect breast cancer. It's your right to know your status
An annual mammogram is an important tool for early detection of breast cancer. When you receive your mammogram results, you might also get a report informing you that you have dense breast tissue. It's important to pay attention to that status, as women with dense breast tissue are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
"Women with dense breasts do have an increased risk of breast cancer and the reasons are not clear," said Dr. William Cance, a surgical oncologist and chief medical and scientific officer for the American Cancer Society. "Separately, dense breasts make mammograms less sensitive for detecting cancers."
Women's breasts have three types of tissue — fibrous, glandular and fatty — and women with dense breasts have more fibrous tissues than fatty tissues. Breast density is not related to breast size or shape, nor is it indicative of any negative health condition; however, dense breast tissue is common. In fact, 40% to 50% percent of women ages 40-74 in the U.S. have dense breasts. Only about 10% of women have extremely dense breasts — meaning that nearly all of the breast tissue is dense.
Dense breast tissue is also more common in younger women — breast density can decrease as women age, but some women have the same breast composition their entire lives. Women with a lower body mass and women who take hormone therapy for menopause are also more likely to have dense breast tissue.
A personal story leads to advocacy
Joseph Cappello has spent close to two decades in advocacy work about the importance of knowing one's breast density status. His wife, Dr. Nancy Cappello, had been diligent about getting mammograms and had 11 years of supposedly normal mammograms before a doctor felt a lump in her breast during an annual exam in 2004.
That doctor sent her for another mammogram, which again detected nothing, and an ultrasound — which found a lesion that was later diagnosed as Stage 3C breast cancer that had metastasized to 13 lymph nodes. That was the first time Nancy, then 51, learned she had dense breast tissue and discovered how it had delayed detection and treatment of her cancer. Fatty tissue appears dark on a mammogram reading, while dense tissue does not.
"If a mammogram is given to a woman who has dense breast tissue, the mammogram will show that tissue as white," Joseph said. "The problem is that a tumor also shows up as white, and there's no contrast. If you don't realize you have dense breast tissue, you could be hiding a tumor and don't even know it."
Nancy asked her doctors why she wasn't told about her dense breast tissue status and learned it wasn't standard to do so. Outraged by her experience, she and her husband launched an organization, Are You Dense?, to educate women about dense breast tissue and the importance of understanding the relationship between dense breast tissue and cancer screenings. The organization also created an advocacy arm to pass legislation in each state to require professionals to inform women of their breast density status.
Before Nancy died in 2018, legislation had been passed in 36 states to require medical professionals to give women their breast density status. In early 2019, national legislation requiring women to be informed of their dense breast status was signed into law, meaning that all American women now have the legal right to be told of their breast tissue density.
"We've come a long way from 2004 when we thought we would just tell our family and friends about breast density, which nobody ever heard of," Joseph said. "And then we passed a law in [our home state of] Connecticut, and it just took off from there. I just hope we can keep doing justice to Nancy's work because she did so much for millions of women."
What To Do If You Have Dense Breasts
Being told of one's dense breast tissue status is just the first step. Women should then talk with their doctors about the potential need for further tests.
"There are additional screenings with MRI, ultrasound, 3D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) that are available and may help get better visualization of the breast tissue," Cance said. "However, their absolute value is not known yet and is being evaluated in ongoing trials."
Some of those screenings can expose women to low levels of radiation or detect areas of concern that aren't cancer, but could require even more testing or biopsies. Some can be expensive and not fully covered by insurance. That's why it's best to discuss the pros and cons of additional screening if you have dense breast tissue and decide whether to proceed based on your own health profile and family history. Women with dense breast tissue should still get regular mammograms.
For Joseph Cappello, who carries on the work of Are You Dense?, he's convinced that additional screening could have extended his wife's life. After surviving breast cancer, Nancy was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in August 2018 and died three months later. Joseph said the blood cancer was caused by the extensive treatment she underwent in 2004 for her advanced-stage breast cancer.
"If Nancy had been given a simple ultrasound, if the doctor had said 'you have dense breast tissue, you need an ultrasound,' they would've caught this thing at stage 1 and maybe she could have had a lumpectomy or something like that instead of a mastectomy and heavy doses of chemotherapy and radiation," he said.
Fonte: Healthy Women
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Experiencing Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema? Yoga May Help
With the increase in survival rate for breast cancer survivors, focusing on quality of life needs to be top priority. In 2014, The World Journal of Clinical Oncology published a review highlighting how women treated for breast cancer are facing a lifetime risk of developing lymphedema, a chronic condition that can be managed but not cured. The review mentions those who have obesity or higher body mass index (BMI) have an increased risk of developing lymphedema, which reinforces the importance of following AICR’s 10 Cancer Prevention Recommendations.
The National Lymphedema Network (NLN) says it’s important for individuals with lymphedema to be physically fit, maintain a healthy weight and to seek medical advice before starting any exercise program.
What is breast cancer-related lymphedema?
According to Breastcancer.org, “lymphedema is abnormal swelling that can develop in the arm, hand, breast or torso as a side effect of breast cancer surgery and/or radiation therapy.” Lymph is a thin, clear fluid that circulates throughout the body carrying white blood cells and removing wastes, bacteria and other substances from tissues. Edema is the buildup/back-up of excess fluid. Thus, lymphedema occurs when too much lymph collects in an area of the body.
What are the signs and symptoms of lymphedema?
Common symptoms include tingling, numbness, heaviness, swelling, decreased flexibility or tightness under the arm, around the breast, chest, hand or arm. Lymphedema usually develops gradually, so early detection and treatment are key. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, reach out to your doctor.
Yoga as support for lymphedema
According to Joachim Zuther, lymphedema specialist and founder of the Academy of Lymphatic Studies, yoga is a great form of exercise for those experiencing lymphedema because it can be easily adapted to fit the abilities and limitations of the individual who is exercising. When diaphragmatic breathing is taught, it can increase venous and lymphatic circulation. Yoga has also been shown to improve all aspects of quality of life for cancer survivors. In addition to the physical ailments, lymphedema can cause emotional distress.
Yoga practices for those with lymphedema generally focus on engaging in postures and breathing techniques to increase lymph flow away from the extremities moving towards the torso. This can provide relief for stress and pain while gradually increasing flexibility, strength and balance. It is important to listen to the body and not push or try to do too much, as that would be taxing on the body and could have the opposite outcome.
According to Living Beyond Breast Cancer, “slow moving, rhythmic movements may help prevent lymphedema because they encourage lymph flow.”
Getting started with yoga
Be sure to check with your medical provider before practicing yoga, as they may recommend that you wear a compression garment. In the beginning, it is important to avoid any poses that involve weight bearing on the arms such as cat/cow, balancing cat, downward dog, plank, cobra, headstand and handstand. It may be possible to add these poses back into a practice over time, but it’s best to be cautious when starting or re-starting a practice after surgery or radiation.
In April 2020, a systematic review of the effects of yoga on breast-cancer-related lymphedema concluded that “yoga under the direction of an expert in yoga practice is safe and is not associated with any increase in limb volume or other adverse effects.”
Furthermore, “Yoga for Lymphedema” by Joachim Zuther provides an in-depth look at the benefits of yoga, as well as an explanation of the various styles and poses that are most beneficial for the prevention and management of lymphedema.
Fonte: AICR
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sábado, 24 de outubro de 2020
Metastatic Breast Cancer Took Everything from This Patient
Stephanie Walker, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2015, recalls how her disease has pulled the rug out from underneath her.
Breast cancer can be scary and life altering at any stage, but those with metastatic disease, which has spread to areas beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes, live a unique experience. Their perspective and decisions are shaped by the knowledge that their illness is incurable and that they’ll need treatment for the rest of their lives.
Patients facing this diagnosis often say that only others in the same situation can truly understand what they’re going through. CURE® talked with five people living with the disease, all ambassadors for Facing MBC Together, an Athenex Oncology program that includes a website and app designed to provide practical and emotional support. Here, we share an excerpt from Stephanie Walker’s journey with metastatic breast cancer.
When Walker first heard that her mammogram looked abnormal, she repeatedly hung up on the person delivering the news. “I was not being rude, but I kept thinking she had the wrong person, because I had been doing this for over 25 years and never had an abnormal mammogram,” says Walker, 61, of Tarboro, North Carolina.
After more tests, the married mother of adult children and career nurse received a call on July 9, 2015, confirming that she had breast cancer; it was determined to be metastatic two weeks later. “I rolled over and went back to sleep because I had to work that night,” recalls Walker, who has had no evidence of disease since 2016. “When I got up, I thought, ‘Man, that was a wack dream,’ until I turned my phone over and saw that I did have that conversation.”
On having cancer after working as a critical and hospice care nurse
“When I worked in pediatrics, the children had leukemias and Hodgkin’s disease and multiple brain tumors, (and the way they handled their) chemotherapy and side effects helped me through my chemo. When I wanted to feel really crappy and not do anything or mope around or cry, I would always think about those little kids who would get chemo, throw up, their hair would fall out, and all they would want me to do was to set them on their little IV pole and roll them to the playroom. I thought, ‘If those kids can do it, why can’t I?’”
On retiring because of a blood clot and ministroke
“That news of having to stop working was worse than a cancer diagnosis. It still makes me tear up. Being a hospice nurse is a calling, and I loved what I did. Cancer takes everything that you’ve ever known; it pulls the rug out from under you. You have a job on Tuesday and find out that you don’t have a job on Wednesday, and by Friday, you have no insurance. It was devastating.”
On handling financial challenges
“Cancer not only wrecks your body, it financially ruins you. My husband was retired, so he was getting Social Security and Medicare, but I had nothing. I didn’t qualify for Medicaid. We finally got food stamps, but it was hard. I was encouraged to file for permanent disability through Social Security, and that was approved in less than two weeks. But during the five months that I got nothing, every day, for eight hours a day five days a week, it was my job to find organizations that could help pay our bills. Tons came through for me, and I found organizations that other people didn’t know, so I compiled a lengthy list. What I do now is share those resources.”
Fonte: Cure
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A Look Back at the Movement That Changed the Breast Cancer Journey
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and is deeply associated with the color pink, but it wasn't always like that. Here's how the breast cancer awareness movement began.
During each October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the color pink makes its mark on everything from T-shirts to ribbons to merchandise, raising awareness about the disease and generating funds for research. Love the association with pink or hate it, the color is a reminder of the decades of patient advocacy that have brought breast cancer out of the shadows and into the public conversation and scientists’ labs.
In this special issue of CURE®, we look back at that patient advocacy movement and tell the story of how it began and where it has taken us. Our cover article begins in the 1950s, when the word “breast” couldn’t be uttered in public and women were not consulted before being given mastectomies.
We follow the movement through the rich culture of advocacy that has raised billions of dollars for research and led to not only a much deeper understanding of the disease but also choice for patients about how to treat it. Today’s community welcomes a wider swath of those affected by breast cancer, including previvors who face an inherited predisposition to the disease. We hope you enjoy this feature brimming with the stories of advocacy pioneers, including Terese Lasser and Susan G. Komen founder Nancy Brinker.
In this issue, we also delve into the question of when patients with early-stage breast cancer can safely be spared surgery.
In cases of ductal carcinoma in situ, stage 0 cancer, there is debate about whether surgery is always needed and if it should be lumpectomy or mastectomy. This type of breast cancer is considered preinvasive, and the difficulty in choosing a treatment revolves around a lack of methods for predicting which cases are aggressive and more likely to recur. In our feature article, we present the latest thoughts on this topic.
A third feature explores new developments in treating breast cancer that has spread to the brain.
Elsewhere in this issue, we consider the safety and potential benefits of a shorter course of hypofractionated radiation therapy for certain women with breast cancer. We also discuss blood-based biomarkers as a way to predict the recurrence of triple-negative disease.
Five people who have metastatic breast cancer, all ambassadors for a website that provides emotional support, let us glimpse life with the disease through their eyes. In the same vein, a group known as The Breasties aims to inform and encourage younger people affected by women’s cancers, and two of their founders discuss their experiences.
We hope that this array of material is both inspiring and educational, offering insights that help you ask key questions and make solid decisions about your care. As always, thank you for reading.
Fonte: Cure Today
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Uma carta para mim mesma: Você foi feito para esta jornada do câncer de mama
Post: A Letter to Myself: You Were Made for This Breast Cancer Journey
Por: Paula Schneider, president and CEO of Susan G. Komen®, writes to her younger self on the lessons and challenges she faced as a patient with breast cancer.
Cara Paula,
Você pode pensar que enfrentou adversidades, mas agora está em uma verdadeira luta de vida ou morte.
Como sua mãe antes de você, você será diagnosticado com câncer de mama. Mais tarde, você vai perder sua mãe para o câncer de mama metastático, assim como você perdeu seu irmão para o câncer de próstata metastático. E sua irmã vai ser diagnosticada com melanoma. Câncer se tornará uma característica central de animação de sua vida.
Você terá dificuldade para se controlar quando contar a seu marido e a suas duas filhas em idade escolar que você também tem câncer. Você terá que aprender a abrir mão do controle e aceitar ajuda, até mesmo de seus filhos. É difícil quando você está acostumado a se sentir grande e no comando, mas logo descobrirá que se sente mais fortalecido quando se sente mais impotente.
Vai ser difícil, cobrando seu preço física e emocionalmente. O câncer sempre deixa suas cicatrizes.
Você vai superar, porém, e a experiência vai inspirar uma mudança de vida.
Você vai largar o emprego e procurar uma oportunidade para ajudar outras pessoas. Você aplicará todas as suas experiências de vida ao desafio de liderar a luta para salvar vidas do câncer de mama.
Ele apresentará seu próprio conjunto de desafios, mas não se preocupe, você foi feito para isso. Você conhecerá pessoas que tocarão seu coração de maneiras que você nunca imaginou ser possível - e você terá que dizer adeus a muitos. Você aprenderá que não há problema em chorar nas reuniões. Não é uma demonstração de fraqueza, mas um sinal de propósito.
Ao longo desta jornada, você encontrará crianças que estão arrecadando dinheiro para homenagear suas mães. Você encontrará navegadores pacientes, como Susan, que segurarão sua mão em todas as etapas do tratamento. Você conhecerá alguns dos cientistas mais brilhantes que estão descobrindo como ajudar pessoas como você. E você fará parceria com alguns pensadores inovadores que desejam ajudar a fazer mudanças significativas em como nosso sistema de saúde funciona para melhorar a experiência do paciente, acelerar a descoberta e abordar as disparidades raciais e geográficas.
E apesar de sua história familiar, todas essas pessoas lhe darão esperança de um futuro melhor para suas filhas.
Portanto, mantenha a cabeça erguida e continue caminhando. Você nunca sabe onde o caminho o levará.
Com amor,
Eu
Fonte: Cure Today
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quinta-feira, 22 de outubro de 2020
Risco de medicamento para câncer de mama
Post: Breast cancer medication risk
Uma nova pesquisa liderada pela Flinders University encontrou uma ligação entre os beta-bloqueadores e os resultados de sobrevivência em algumas pacientes com câncer de mama.
Os beta-bloqueadores, comumente usados para controlar doenças cardiovasculares , foram negativamente associados aos resultados de sobrevida em pacientes com câncer de mama avançado positivo HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2), de acordo com um novo artigo na Frontiers In Oncology .
Usando dados coletados de 2.777 pacientes em ensaios clínicos , o estudo mostrou resultados de sobrevida piores para pacientes com grupo ABC HER2 positivo usando beta-bloqueador concomitante, em comparação com pacientes que não usavam BB.
"A pesquisa destaca um grupo de pacientes com câncer de mama cujos resultados de sobrevivência são profundamente piores", disse o professor de Farmacologia Clínica Michael Sorich, diretor do Grupo de Medicina de Precisão da Faculdade de Medicina e Saúde Pública da Flinders University
"Dado que cerca de 20% dos pacientes com câncer de mama superexpressam HER2 - e as toxicidades cardiovasculares são uma complicação conhecida das terapias anti-HER2 - este estudo identifica de maneira importante um subgrupo de pacientes nos quais recomendamos uma investigação mais aprofundada para encontrar estratégias para melhorar os resultados do tratamento."
A pesquisa concluiu: "Pesquisas futuras devem ter como objetivo obter uma compreensão mais profunda dos efeitos dos beta-bloqueadores em subtipos específicos de câncer de mama, tipos de câncer e tratamentos de câncer."
Fonte: Medical Xpress (Tradução Google)
As informações e sugestões contidas neste blog são meramente informativas e não devem substituir consultas com médicos especialistas.
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Atividade física e câncer
Vamos falar de atividade física e saúde durante o câncer
Porque fazer exercício físico faz bem e o ideal para você é aquele que te dá prazer em praticar.
QUAL A IMPORTÂNCIA DA ATIVIDADE FÍSICA?
Além de dar mais disposição para o paciente, ela auxilia no controle da ansiedade, melhora o humor e diminui o estresse
Atividade física e qualidade de vida tudo a ver!
Ser sedentário não está com nada!! Perder peso, aumentar a massa e a força muscular, melhorar a postura e a flexibilidade são apenas alguns dos benefícios de se fazer atividade física. A disposição mental também fica maior, e tudo isso junto, contribui demais para uma boa qualidade de vida.
ATIVIDADE FÍSICA E CÂNCER:
E esses benefícios também se estendem para pacientes com câncer do sangue, claro. Por serem submetidos a diversos tratamentos (como cirurgias, quimioterapia e radioterapia) que podem apresentar alguns efeitos colaterais, como dor, fadiga, diminuição da capacidade física e indisposição, fazer atividade física funciona como um excelente remédio.
MAS FIQUE ATENTO! CONSULTE SEU MÉDICO E FAÇA EXERCÍCIOS FÍSICOS COM ORIENTAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL
A única precaução é que nada seja feito sem antes consultar o médico, já que alguns exercícios não são indicados. Aqui, a fisioterapeuta Priscilla Mendoza, que faz parte do Comitê da ABRALE, dá informações e dicas importantes sobre a prática de atividade física por pacientes.
O QUE É ATIVIDADE FÍSICA? QUEM PODE PRATICAR?
Atividade física é qualquer movimento corporal produzido pela musculatura que resulte num gasto de energia acima do nível de repouso. Exemplos de atividade física: caminhar para se deslocar de um lugar a outro, passear com o cachorro, subir escadas, lavar o carro, brincar com os filhos, dançar, cuidar do jardim, entre outros. (Fonte: wilkipédia)
Todo e qualquer paciente que esteja em condições de se movimentar, e que seja orientado e supervisionado pelo seu hemato-oncologista, que precisa liberar os exercícios. Também é importante considerar o gosto pessoal de cada um, pois realizar uma atividade que não apenas contribua para manter a capacidade física mas também proporcione prazer ao paciente melhora muito a qualidade de vida nessa etapa do tratamento.
CÂNCER E ATIVIDADE FÍSICA | QUAIS CUIDADOS DEVEM SER TOMADOS?
Primeiramente, o médico precisa liberar o paciente para a realização da atividade física, pois cada câncer tem suas características próprias e só o onco-hematologista de cada pessoa pode avaliar o quanto essa prática pode auxiliar ou não. Depois de liberados, os exercícios precisam ser orientados por um profissional da saúde, e com o objetivo único de manter a capacidade física e amenizar alguns efeitos do tratamento. Nesse momento não deve ser feito nada que vise à perda de peso ou ao ganho de massa muscular. Vale lembrar que, se o paciente não tinha uma rotina de atividade física antes do tratamento, deve iniciar de forma bem leve e gradual, enquanto aqueles que já faziam exercícios precisam reduzir o ritmo, respeitando o momento.
ATIVIDADE FÍSICA BENEFÍCIOS IMPORTANTES
Mas quais os exercícios permitidos e os proibidos?
Os mais indicados são:
- Atividades aeróbicas leves (como caminhada)
- Alongamentos e relaxamentos
- Fortalecimento leve e supervisionado (exercícios com peso ou pilates)
- Exercícios objetivo de manter a força muscular e a capacidade física
- Os proibidos são exatamente os que vão contra esse foco de manutenção, como os de muito impacto e os de alta performance.
E QUANTO ÀS ATIVIDADES DO DIA-A-DIA?
O ideal é que durante o tratamento o paciente consiga manter todas essas atividades simples do dia a dia, como lavar a louça, passear com o cachorro etc. Melhor evitar apenas aquelas que envolvam carregar muito peso ou que causem grande exaustão. Ter equilíbrio é a melhor alternativa, mantendo sua rotina o mais normal possível mas sempre respeitando os seus limites.
Fonte: Abrale
As informações e sugestões contidas neste blog são meramente informativas e não devem substituir consultas com médicos especialistas.
É muito importante (sempre) procurar mais informações sobre os assuntos